Ayo Ola (not real name), a teacher living in Oyo State, was in need of a substantial loan when she downloaded the Cashtree loan app on September 17.

She had received an unsolicited message from someone named Laura. The message reads partly: “Hello!!!!! Sorry for the intrusion This is Laura from Cashlawn CASHTREE mintbag. We noticed you’ve been applying for loans and the amount given to you is always small… I have good news for you. Your credit score has been increased and you are now eligible to take a loan of 70k for a start.”

According to the sender, she could get a loan of N50,000 and would only have to repay N55,000. Alas, it was a lie. The available loan options she found by the time she downloaded the app were way lower than what Laura promised.

When the app failed to provide what she wanted, Ola did not proceed with the loan application. A Cashtree agent simply identified as Noran on Truecaller, a caller ID platform, called her via this number — 09068010608.

Ola told FIJ that the agent asked her to accept the loan, but she mentioned that the amount was too small so there was no point accepting it. Then on Friday, she was credited with a N5,700 loan with the description “AOcashtreePhoenix Payment Solutions Limited” without her approval.

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A CRY FOR HELP

Ola’s shock upon receiving the unwanted loan would later translate into fear of being hounded and harassed by loan sharks in seven days when they expect her to return N10,910 for the loan she never requested!

She said she immediately called the Cashtree agent Noran for help on the matter, and she promised to do something about it. But the agent later stopped answering her calls.

Ola then reached out to FIJ, saying, “I don’t want trouble. Cashtree app disbursed N5,700 to me, and I never requested the loan. I called their agent, and she told me she [was] going to do something [about] it but later she stopped picking up my call. Please, help me because I don’t want trouble.”

All she wants is to return the unwanted N5,700 without any additional costs, but her efforts have been futile ever since. When Ola spoke with Noran about the issue, she requested Cashtree’s official account number, where she could return the money.

“I downloaded the app because I wanted to get a loan, but the amount they wanted to give me was too small so I rejected it,” Ola told FIJ.

“The app stopped opening after they disbursed the money. I called their agent to send their account number so I can refund the money because the app stopped working on my phone.”

Ola told FIJ that the app has been non-functional since she received the unauthorised loan on Friday. The repayment date on the app also shows September 27, when they expect her to pay N10,910, which is almost double the loan they disbursed without Ola’s consent.

READ ALSO: Despite Returning Unwanted Loan, Oyo Resident Still Being Harassed by Cashlawn Agent for Interest

FIJ called agent Noran several times on Thursday, but the calls rang out without a response. A WhatsApp message FIJ also sent received no response even though the agent’s status on the instant messaging app was active.

The phone line — 09032390681 — that promised Ola a high loan amount in a text message was switched off. A WhatsApp message was subsequently sent, but the profile status showed that the last time the owner was online was September 13 at 9:51 am.

FIJ also sent an SMS message, but no response had been received at press time.

All attempts to get the website or the official contact details of Cashtree were also futile. The loan app was neither available on Google Play Store nor did they have a website.

Although no relevant information on Cashtree Phoenix Payment Solutions Limited was also found through an online search, FIJ found the name of a company called Phoenix Payment Solution Limited under the list of digital lending apps approved by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

However, only the Mintbag app was found under loan apps linked to the company. Nowhere on the list of fully approved, or conditionally approved, on the FCCPC watchlist or delisted money lending apps was Cashtree found.

Meanwhile, on the Nairaland forum, FIJ found this complaint from a user who got deceived via the Cashtree loan app on September 19 in the same manner Ola was tricked.

“I needed a loan and someone messaged that Cashtree and Cashlawn can offer N50,000 loan at N25,000 each. I registered and saw that they were going to give me half of what I was requesting and I’ll pay double for repayment,” the user wrote.

“On seeing this, I quickly left the app and uninstalled it. Some minutes later, I got two alerts from the said apps of N13,000 each. Now I’ve repaid with N26,000 twice, which is equal to N52,000 because they said they were going to disgrace me.”